In our country there are certain questions, that when answered, define a persons' personality and belief system. Typically opinions are very clearly delineated, with very few exception. These are serious questions. The type of which there is no room for waffling.
For example: a) Elvis or b) The Beatles.
a) Coke or b) Pepsi.
a) Chevy or b) Ford.
a) Lakers or b) Celtics
a) Pro-Life or b) Pro-Choice.
a) Smoker or b) non-smoker.
(The correct answers are b-a-b-a-b-a).
For the record, I am not a smoker. I have never been a smoker (minus one week in Jr. High when I pretended to smoke with Becky Tank). I will never become a smoker. I think that we have ample information about the detrimental effects on your health when you choose to smoke. It's my opinion that people who have such information and choose to begin smoking anyway are idiots. However, for the most part I fall clearly on the 'side' of the smoker.
To begin I'd like to argue that us non-smoking types really don't care about the health of 'the children'. How could we? Those of us who don't smoke aren't purchasing cigarettes thus not paying the exorbitant taxes which finance many of the Child's Health programs in our state. Obviously if I was truly concerned for the welfare (pardon the pun) of needy children I'd start a pack a day habit.
Then we come to restaurants and bars. Ok, I get that you may not want to sit down for dinner and have to smell the smoke from the college kids at the table next to you. And I get that we are supposed to care about the poor waitresses who choose that profession with full knowledge that they'll be breathing smoke all night long. But I come at this from the perspective of someone who is quickly becoming a Libertarian in her old age. To me, it is absolutely wrong for the guv-ment to tell me what I can/can't do in my place of business. And before you go off half cocked and say something silly like 'SOOO business owners should be able to do whatever they want, huh? How about selling porn to handicapped kids on school campuses, eh?'....what I mean is that if something is LEGAL (which for the foreseeable future smoking will be because it makes one heck of a lot of money for said govt.) then each individual business owner should be able to decide for themselves. As should each patron. If I own a restaurant... and I CHOOSE to make my business a smoking establishment... and no one CHOOSES to come to eat my steak...then I go out of business. Problem solved. No government intervention needed.
Onto parks and beaches. It's now illegal to smoke in a park/on a beach. Really? Please try to explain to me (without laughing because it is obviously so ridiculous) how the smoke from the dude on the blanket 50 feet away from you is going to cause your lung cancer. You may find it irritating or inconvenient but it certainly isn't a health issue. And if we are going to start legislating to prevent inconvenience then I want to see the 'Your Kid is a Brat-Get Him Out of This Restaurant' bill up for a vote at the next election. Or perhaps the 'Hey Fat Lady - You Smell - Move Over' law enacted immediately.
What it boils down to for me is consistency. Don't say that smoking is a horrible terrible thing and then finance programs for kids with the money. Don't pussy foot around the issue. Make a clear, consistent decision. If smoking is something that we as a society deem too problematic or dangerous to continue, then grow a pair, make a decision, and make it illegal. Until then back off of the smokers. I want to live in a country where I have the option of walking a little further away from the dude on the beach or picking a different dinner destination. Either way, keep your damn kids quiet while I eat.
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